DEAD LAST COLLECTIVEwhere creativity meets community

continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success.

I really miss the studio I had in college. I was spoiled by blank walled spaces and even lighting and people who would critique me truthfully. Now I find myself tucked into the edge corner of the garage. With a make shift table made of cardboard and a giant paper maché peanut butter jar from 8th grade advanced art as the base. (Ok I could bring my easel out but this seemed more inventive.) The other day I broke out the oils for the first time in months and walked away feeling defeated. Looking at your past hours of work and disliking it all is a frustrating feeling for the artist.It proved to me that this transition time of life in which I find myself has seeped into my work as well. It's uncertain. It's messy. It's kind of scary. It's new.

I don't like it.

But once I bravely decided to try again the next day, my perspective had changed. The atmosphere had stayed the same. But perhaps it's the attitude that trumps even that.

Perseverance. Perspective. Courage. ​Those are the things that return me to the blank and unfinished canvases time after time. You have to push yourself. You have to make time. And you can't give up. Make art that's good. Make bad art too. Whatever the outcome, simply keep creating. Because it's what you were meant to do.​